Blind Test #13 - Gillette Silver Blue vs 7 O'clock Black

Well, folks, it's been a little while since my last blind blade test. I had a bit of a RAD phase and there were a number of new razors I wanted to use, including a 2013 R41, a Schick I2 Hydro-magic Injector, and a Gillette New short comb. And I wanted to use a few old favourites again too.

I have quite a few tests lined up, thanks in part to some kind donations, so it was a tough choice this time. But a couple of my recent shaves have been with a Gillette Silver Blue blade, which seemed very sharp to me, and people have suggested doing a test with it. So here it is - Silver Blue vs Indian 7 O'Clock Black.

This time I'm using my Edwin Jagger razors - the plastic-handled equivalent of the DE89, in two different colours...



I've loaded the two razors blind and don't know which blade is in which, and I'll be having my first shave within the next hour - watch this space!

(Full details of the thinking behind these tests can be found in the thread here.)

2 of my favorites! This should be interesting... (as always). Looking forward to the results.

Links to previous tests...

Blind test #1 - Feather vs 7 O'clock Yellow
Blind test #2 - Astra SP vs Derby
Blind test #3 - Shark SS vs Dorco ST301
Blind test #4 - Personna "Red" vs Astra SP
Blind test #5 - Feather vs Personna Med Prep
Blind test #6 - Gillette 7 O'clock, Yellow vs Black
Blind test #7 - Med Prep vs Iridium Super
Blind test #8 - 7 O'Clock, Black vs Blue
Blind test #9 - Personna, Med vs Lab
Blind test #10 - Timor vs Sputnik
Blind test #11 - Med vs Lab, round 2
Blind test #12 - Iridium Super vs Polsilver Super Iridium

As usual great blades to compare!

Those are two of the three blades that I use (Astra SP being the third). I'm very interested in this blind test...

Shave #1

Gillette Silver Blue vs 7 O'clock Black, in two EJ razors - one Black, one White

Test set up as described in the thread here.

Black = Right side of face
White = Left side of face

Brush = Semogue SOC SE 2012, mixed-hair
Soap = Martin de Candre Fougère
AS = Pashana

Pass 1, WTG: Pass 2, XTG: Pass 3, ATG: Two very sharp blades, which gave me a nice smooth shave, and all three passes felt very good. As so often in the early stages of a test, there was no apparent difference between the two blades.

Closeness: Very close - pretty much BBS.

Comfort: Comfortable shave, no burn, no irritation.

AS: Nice relaxing glow from the Pashana.

There's not much to say in the early shaves of these tests, so I'll waffle a bit about the other things I used...

My usual pre-shave prep is a good wash with Cussons Imperial Leather soap, which is a long-time favourite. But when reading about Syria recently I came across a story about the traditional soap business in Aleppo and how it is suffering. Now, I know it's a relatively minor tragedy compared to the humanitarian disaster that's happening there, but as a soapie I was intrigued and bought a bar to try (there are plenty of eBay sellers). And it's excellent stuff - it has an unusual fragrance, and it's very hard and takes a bit of lathering, but it's a very creamy and moisturizing soap.

I only bought Martin de Candre shaving soap for the first time recently, and it's shot to the top of my leaderboard - it's amazingly easy to lather, and only a small amount of soap produces the slickest and most protective lather I've ever shaved with. And it smells fantastic!

The Semogue SOC SE 2012 has become my favourite brush - superb backbone for face-lathering, and the tips are getting ever-better with use.

And finally the Pashana aftershave - maybe not an obvious choice for summer, but it's a grey and rainy day here, and I love the fragrance of it.

That's it - see you next shave!

Using a Silver Blue now for the first time (on shave 4, I think). Really liking this blade so far.

Will be watching this thread with interest.

These are two excellent blades to compare, they share very similar performance aspects, are equally available, and go for a comparable price - I agree with all the comments above that I am really looking forward to this comparison.

I personally like both of these blades, but have settled on one and will not be replacing my now depleted stock of the other. I am hoping to see some of the results here affirm my stance.

"These are two excellent blades to compare, they share very similar performance aspects, are equally available, and go for a comparable price"

I get GSB's for $20 per 100. What is typical with the Gillette Blacks?

Two of the four blades I've narrowed down to. Very interested in the results.

cfender said:

"I get GSB's for $20 per 100. What is typical with the Gillette Blacks?

Click to expand...

I don't hunt for the absolute best deal and I've seen 7Blacks rise in price quite a bit. $50 or so for 100.

inspiringK said:

These are two excellent blades to compare, they share very similar performance aspects...

Click to expand...

That was the feeling I got when I had a couple of shaves with a Silver Blue - it felt a lot like a 7 O'clock Black to me, and that's one of my favourites, so it seemed like the obvious one to test against.

(Can't remember how much I paid for the Blacks, but they were reasonably priced direct from India.)

If you can get Blacks direct from India, you should get a great price. Razors Direct has 100 packs of Blacks for $24.99.


Great test Oscroft, really looking forward to your results. FWIW, I found that the Blacks were sharper and slightly longer lasting, while the GSB's provided a slightly smoother shave with less irritation. I keep both in my rotation, great blades.

Great test Oscroft, really looking forward to your results. FWIW, I found that the Blacks were sharper and slightly longer lasting, while the GSB's provided a slightly smoother shave with less irritation. I keep both in my rotation, great blades.[/QUOTE]

I agree. Great test. Your comment about the 7 O'Clock Blacks being sharper seems a fair assessment. I find that I have to be a bit more careful when I have one of those in the razor. I've bitten myself a few times where I wouldn't have with the GSB blades. Both excellent blades, IMO.

I am also interested is seeing this one. The Silver Blue has been my favorite blade for the past year and not having used the black, I am curious to see how this one goes.

My favorites are Blacks and Blues

I've heard Silver Blues were similar to Gillette Platinums

BigNickel said:

If you can get Blacks direct from India, you should get a great price. Razors Direct has 100 packs of Blacks for $24.99.


Great test Oscroft, really looking forward to your results. FWIW, I found that the Blacks were sharper and slightly longer lasting, while the GSB's provided a slightly smoother shave with less irritation. I keep both in my rotation, great blades.

Click to expand...

^ This

Virtually word for word of what was in my brain. Looking forward to the continued Black v. SB...umm, face off...?

so far not a huge fan of blacks they are a very nice blade but imo at least so far i like the gsb better. the black seemed to miss a few hairs the gsb always get first time. still a much better blade than many out there.

Shave #2

Gillette Silver Blue vs 7 O'clock Black, in two EJ razors - one Black, one White

Test set up as described in the thread here.

Black = Left side of face
White = Right side of face

Brush = New Forest 24mm 2-band
Soap = Monsavon Bol à Raser
AS = Floïd Blue

My stubble was quite modest today, so the first shave had really been very close.

Today I went to the other end of the scale for French soaps, price-wise - the Monsavon only costs around €1.50 or so in France, I believe. With a generous loading, it really gives a pretty good lather - it's not MdC, but for the price it's exceptionally good. I did notice that the puck is shrinking, so I'm going to try to use it more often to use it up. Anyway...

Pass 1, WTG: Very good, sharp and smooth, pass. I did wonder if the White felt a little sharper, but I really wasn't sure. One thing I did notice is that the two blades sound a bit different - not that that means anything.

Pass 2, XTG: I paid close attention to sharpness with this pass, but I really couldn't tell any difference.

Pass 3, ATG: Again, no obvious difference between the two blades. I got a weeper from Black on my top lip, but it stopped pretty quickly.

Closeness: Very close - pretty much BBS again.

Comfort: Very comfortable again.

AS: Nice cooling feel from the Floïd, as usual, and my face felt very good afterwards.

After two shaves, the two blades feel a little different, in a way I can't really describe - but they seem pretty much equally sharp and equally smooth at this stage.

Alan, many thanks. This is the first of your tests I've been able to follow live. A Wet Shaving...Soap Opera.